95

Josh Raynolds

Vinous

Vivid red color. Seductive, highly expressive aromas of raspberry, anise, Asian spices, smoky minerals and potpourri. Juicy, sweet and palate-staining, with vibrant red and dark berry flavors and superb clarity and back-end florality. The extremely long finish leaves sweet floral pastille and raspberry notes behind. This is one of the most seductive wines of the vintage and is already showing a lot of complexity. 01/2010

96

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

Two brilliant successes are Brunel’s cuvees of 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape. His limited cuvee of approximately 500 cases of the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire (made from 80% Grenache aged in foudre, and the balance Syrah and Mourvedre aged in one- to three-year-old small barrels) comes primarily from a parcel of 120-year-old vines in the northern part of the appellation in the lieu-dit known as Farguerol. This cuvee has only been made in vintages such as 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, and now 2007. Deep ruby/purple in color, the wine exhibits very up-front, precocious, sexy plum, black currant, and sweet cherry notes intermixed with some floral hints, licorice, and garrigue. It is dense, full-bodied, much more supple and silky-textured than the 2005 or 2001, but seemingly more concentrated than the 2000 version of this wine. It is a brilliant, full-throttle, seamless Chateauneuf du Pape capable of lasting for up to two decades, although few people will be able to resist its exuberant youthfulness. A moderately-sized estate for Chateauneuf du Pape (just under 44 acres), this is always a benchmark for the quality of any given vintage thanks to the energetic and very talented proprietor, Andre Brunel. He produced two of the best 2008s I tasted.